Wave Nature of Light
Objective:
The purpose of this lab is to investigate interference, otherwise known as the diffraction of light. A beam of light acts a wave, and we are able to use equations so calculate the wavelength of the light used. The diffraction of a straight edge demonstrates that light waves bend around straight edges, allowing light to enter an area of shadow. When waves are superposed, they reinforce each other when crests are in phase and cancel out when they are not in phase. An image projected by light waves shows this by producing concentric circles of light. When slits are used, the laser superposes itself and creates constructive interference. The resulting spots are measured to give data that allows one to find the wavelength using the equation λm = dsin θ. These diffraction and interference with such slits was successful because of low percent errors in the wavelengths calculated. Additionally, a diffraction gradient creates......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 1293
Approximate Pages: 5 (260 words per double-spaced page) |